Improvement in percussion-fuses for shells



G. P. GANSTER,

Shell-Fuse.

No. 42185 Patented Apr. 5, 1864.

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llllllllllllllllillllllll /A IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"I'M 57pm adlfvM3515, PHOTO-UTHDGRAPHER, WASHINGTOM D C Unrren sue-a PATENT @rrrcnGEORGE P. GANSTER, OF Nl llV YORK, If. Y.

lMPROVEMENTIN PERCUSSION-FUEES FOR SHELLS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent- No. l2,ll5, dated April5-, i864.

To aZZ who/72, it may concern i shoulder c. I) is an annular plunger, oflead Be it known that LGEORGE P. GANSTER, or other-soft and heavy metal,fitted loosely of the city, county, and State of New York, I to thesmaller portion of the iinterior of the have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Percuss1on-Fuses for Explosive Projectiles; terior of thetube a, and having formed upon and I do hereb declare that the followingis a its front end rivets c e,'of the same metal, by full, clear, andexact description of the same, which it is riveted, as shown in Fig. 1,to the reference being had to the accompanying plate (Z, through holesit h, Fig. 2, inithe said drawings, forming part of this specification,plate. This plunger has strongly attached to in whichits front end athin metal tube, f, the internal Figures 1 and 2 are centrallongitudinal caliber of which is the same as that of the in sections ofthe fuse, Fig; 1 showing the con terior of the plungerthat is to say, itfits dition of the parts easily to the exterior of the tube a. Thestarted by the firing of the charge of the gun, length of this tube f issuch that when the and Fig. 2 their condition after the starting plungeris attached closely to the plate (Z, as of the projectile. shown in Fig.1, its front end will touch or Similar letters of reference indicatecone I nearly touch the cap B is the capsule, of a size to fit looselysponding parts in the two figures.

' within the tube f, but too lar e to enter This invention relates topercussion-fuses,

fire by the contact of the liquid on the brea rtube f, and a few grainsof fine gunpowder ing of the capsule by the percussion produced areintroduced among the cotton or other soft by the striking of theprojectile against any material. The annular space between the resistingbody when fired from a gun. I tube f and the larger surrounding portionof It consists in certain means whereby the l the tube A, in front ofthe plate (Z, is nearly capsule is prevented from being broken in thefilled with shot, a g, or with some hard and handling of or by theaccidental dropping of heavy granular material, and a layer of cottonthe projectile,- but its breakage is insured or other soft materialplaced as packing bewhen the projectile strikes on being fired fromtween the shot or granular material and the the gun. a cap 13.

To enable others skilled in the art to make The fuse, having its partsin the position and use my invention, I will proceed to (10- andcondition shown in Fig. ,is screwed into scribe its construction andoperation. A is the projectile in the usual manner, and the the outertube or shell of the fuse. This is plungerbremainsin thatposition,undisturbed closed at its rear or inner end, except that it byany action to which it can be subject before has a central opening, inwhich is inserted being inserted in the gun and during the loadandtightly secured a tube, a, which extends ing; but when the gun is tired.and the proforward about two-thirds of its length, and its jectile isstarted suddenly by the sudden imfront or outer end is open and providedwith pact produced by the explosion of the gunan internal screw-threadfor the reception of powder, the inertia of the heavy plunger 1) threadon its exterior to screw into the fuseh h, and the plunger, with theattached tube hole of the projectile. The front portion is f, movesforward slower than the other parts bored out a little larger than therear portion, of the fuse, until the plunger is left in contact to forma shoulder, c, a little in rear of the with the closed rear portion '5z, of the tube, front end of the tube a. (Z is an annular plate,surrounding the tube, and the tube f is withfitted to slip easily to thelarger front portion drawn from in front of the plate (Z, and ceases ofthe interior of the tube, and having in its to separate the capsule Gfrom the surroundcenter a hole a little larger than the exterior ingshot or granular material The said of the tube a, and which :rcstsagainst the capsule is, however, protected by the cotton or other softmaterial, j, from being broken by the centrifugal action of the shotwhich I ensues on the discharge of a projectile from a cannon; but onthe projectile striking any resisting body, the capsule and the shot orgranular material are all caused to move forward together within thetube A, and the shot or hard granules are brought into violent contactwith the capsule, which, on being broken, causes the ignition of thei'ulminate, the fire from which passes through the tube a and ignitesthe bursting-charge of the projectile. I propose, generally, to fill thecapsule O with sulphuric acid, and to coat its exterior with a compoundof potash and sulphur, as described in the specification of an applicaltube, A, closing-cap 13, tube a,

mare:

tion for Letters Patent made by myself and G. Schuylerto the UnitedStates Patent Office.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent, as an improved article of manufacture A percussion-fusecomposed of a screwthin tube f, with attached annular plunger 1),globule 0, soft material 9', and shot or granular material 5 the wholeunited in the manner herein shown and described.

.GEORGE l GANSTER.

\Vitnesses:

M. M. LIVINGSTON.

